Volvo Masters of Asia gets prize money boost

The Volvo Masters of Asia makes its third successive visit to Thai Country Club later this year, when once again the cream of the Asian Tour’s players will compete in what is the season-ending Tour Championship.

To be played from December 6 to 9, the tournament features the top-60 players from the UBS Order of Merit and will boast prize money of US$750,000 – an increase of US$100,000 from last year.

In memorable scenes last December, Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee triumphed in front of his home fans to maintain his record of winning an Asian Tour event every year since 2000.

He claimed the prestigious title by winning by one stroke from Filipino legend Frankie Minoza for what was his eighth victory on the Asian Tour.

The tournament field features the top-60 players for the UBS Order of Merit taken from the penultimate event of the season.

“We inaugurated the Volvo Masters of Asia so that for the first time Asia could boast a Tour Championship that features the players who have performed with distinction across the year. The tournament has been a wonderful success,” said Mel Pyatt, President & CEO, Volvo Event Management.

The Volvo Masters of Asia was first played at Thai Country Club in 2005 when Indian Shiv Kapur marched to victory.

“Staging the Volvo Masters of Asia in Thailand has been remarkably rewarding. Not only is it a golfing oasis but also a premier holiday destination. We have of course been fortunate to stage the tournament at Thai Country Club, which I think we all agree is one of the finest golf clubs in Asia. We are really looking forward to returning there in December,” added Pyatt.

The Volvo Masters of Asia is part of a rich portfolio of events they sponsor. In April they staged the Volvo China Open in Shanghai, where Austrian Markus Brier won, while in November the European Tour season comes to a conclusion with the Volvo Masters in Spain, where Indian Jeev Mlikha Singh recorded a glorious victory last year.

Thongchai’s popular victory last year was the icing on the cake for the Volvo Masters of Asia. The two-time Asian Tour number one is the country’s most famous golfing son and his triumph on home soil delighted the nation.

It was his second success in the event as he also claimed the title in 2003 at Bangkok Golf Club.

The Volvo Masters of Asia was inaugurated in 2002, when Korean teenager Kevin Na took top spot at Kota Permai Golf and Country Club in Malaysia.

“The partnership between the Asian Tour and Volvo, has been a highly successful one. We are indebted to Volvo for their support as they have played a key role in the development of the Asian Tour over the past decade. The Volvo Masters of Asia is a fine example of Volvo’s commitment to ensure that professional golf in Asia has a bright future,” said Kyi Hla Han, Executive Chairman, Asian Tour.

“This year the Asian Tour boasts 29 events and record prize money of over US$28 million and what better way to end the year than by seeing our top players compete in an event of the highest quality like the Volvo Masters of Asia,” added Han.

Thai Country Club has been an outstanding venue for the tournament. Just two months after it opened in 1996 it was in the global spotlight when a 21-year-old Tiger Woods claimed the Asian Classic.

Just a year later, the club was the host course for the Johnnie Walker Super Tour, which was won in style by Vijay Singh in the company of such golfing greats as Ernie Els, Jesper Parnevik and Laura Davies.

“Since those early years, our business activity has grown to new levels with the club receiving accolades for being “Best Course in Thailand”, and “Best Clubhouse in Asia”, on several occasions, reaffirming, again and again, Thai Country Club’s unequivocal commitment to the five-star golf industry,” said Jean-Pierre Schneider, General Manager, Thai Country Club.

“For Thai Country Club it is a great honor to be selected as the home venue for this prestigious, season-ending event that will be beamed live via Star Sports to millions of TV viewers around Asia. And, therefore, all of us at the club intend making this a real ‘Thai treat’ for the organizers, sponsors, the players and the spectators, from door-to-door and from tee-to-green, so that all concerned will feel the magic of the moment as the curtain falls on the last golfing tournament of 2007,” added Schneider.

Designed by golf course architect Dennis Griffiths and opened on 1st December 1996, the par-72 Thai Country Club layout is a fitting challenge for the finest golfers on the Asian Tour.

June 12, 2007

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